


Swallow the Nostalgia (Chase it with Lime)

by King_Queen_and_Ace



Category: DCU (Comics), Grayson (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Damian Wayne is a good brother, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dimension Travel, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Pining, Protective Wally West, Sad Dick Grayson, Slow Burn, Spyral (DCU), Wally West Needs a Hug, Wally West is The Flash, they both need a hug honestly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-27 07:04:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21388084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/King_Queen_and_Ace/pseuds/King_Queen_and_Ace
Summary: The first thing that the Dick lookalike said to him was:“You aren’t from this dimension.”Wally shook his head and tried not to stare too much at the younger man.“Are you a villain?”“No.”The Dick lookalike snorted, his lip curled in faint amusement. Wally wanted to cry at how achingly familiar it was.*Wally West, AKA the Flash, alongside Superman and Wonder Woman end up in Dick's universe. It's unfortunate they aren't the people they both once knew.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Wally West, Stephanie Brown & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson
Comments: 122
Kudos: 911
Collections: The Birdflash Master Collection





	1. Morbid Curiosity

Surprisingly, Dick had been in the Watchtower when it all started.

When he tried to recall the reason for his presence later on, all he was able remember was that he had been there to help Tim with something (most likely a case), but he wasn’t able to remember what with. Not that it really mattered in the scheme of things.

He supposed what matters was that he had been there from the start, when the Watchtower had received that fateful urgent call from Clark, requesting all available heroes to come to his location.

He and Tim had exchanged a shrug and Zeta’d down to Earth alongside Bruce, Ollie, Dinah, Barry and Hal. (It wasn’t everyday Superman asked for backup after all).

What awaited them made their jaws drop.

It was… Flash, Wonder Woman and Superman. Which was mildly impossible given that Clark was watching the trio with his eyes narrowed, suspicion clouding his usual easygoing expression, and Barry was standing next to Dick with his mouth gaping in shock.

“Well…this isn’t something you see every day.” Hal had quipped when it was clear no one was going (or willing) to say anything.

* * *

The trio had stared at the group of new arrivals. The group had stared back.

“So… anyone mind telling us what’s going on?” Hal had continued, voice somehow not conveying his surprise and confusion. If Bruce hadn't been preoccupied with scowling at the doppelganger trio, Dick was sure he would be sending the Lantern a glare. As it was, the acrobat could see the muscles in his jaw twitching.

“Who are you?” The Wonder Woman lookalike scowled at them.

“Who the hell are you?” Ollie shot back. “Is this another one of CADMUS’ sick jokes?”

“CADMUS? We are no clones.” Wonder Woman scoffed. The two Supermen just stared at each other, equally suspicious. It would have been amusing had it not been an incredibly volatile situation.

Dinah tilted her head, “Then you should have no problem identifying yourselves.”

The trio shot each other a look before Superman answered, “We are members of the Justice League of America.”

Hal snorted, “That’s weird buddy, because last time I checked, _we’re_ the Justice League.”

Bruce, who had thus far stayed surprisingly silent, finally spoke up. “You’re from another dimension.”

Superman narrowed his eyes at Bruce, “And how did you come to that conclusion?”

Tim spoke up, “It’s written all over your energy signatures.” The trio looked up toward the back of the group where Tim and Dick had been standing; so far forgotten or possibly ignored; quietly examining them. Tim had been taking energy readings of them as soon as the Superman lookalike had claimed that they were the JLA.

At the sight of the pair, Superman’s eyes widened, and Wonder Woman raised a hand to her mouth. The Flash’s reaction however, was the most interesting. He stumbled slightly, as if he had started to swiftly dart towards Dick, but then aborted the movement. His arm was outstretched towards the raven-haired man and one could tell that under his cowl his eyes were wide.

“Rob?” He choked out.

“How the hell do you know that name?” Dick had growled immediately, tensing up further for a fight; there was only one person who had ever called him that and he was dead, had been for years.

“Oh my God…” The trio seemed to be in shock.

“Um, is anyone else really weirded out by this?” Hal questioned.

“How do you know that name?” Bruce also growled out, towering slightly above the Flash lookalike, menacingly.

It seemed to break Flash out of his stupor because he pulled off his cowl, staring past Bruce and at Dick, who was glaring at him. A familiar head of red hair and green eyes graced the heroes’ vision as the man stammered out in desperation, “Rob, it’s me- I- it’s Wally.”

For the second time that day the heroes’ jaws hit the floor as the very much alive and not dead Wally West frantically stare at Dick.

* * *

Dick definitely didn’t remember much of what happened next. He knew that the doppelgangers agreed to go to the Watchtower with them; he knew that everyone kept staring at him and the Wally lookalike; he knew that Tim kept trying to talk to him; but all he could do was replay those same five seconds again and again.

It couldn’t be Wally. It couldn’t be _Wally_. It couldn’t be Wally, _right_? Wally was dead, had been for years. Yet here he seemed to be, seemingly a couple years older than the last time Dick had seen him.

Dick internally groaned with frustration; his mind racing with countless possibilities.

Could this Wally be his Wally? After all there was no body left… His Wally had just ceased…

Or maybe it really was a clone, and the energy readings had been planted by CADMUS in order to full the heroes, and trick them into letting the clones into the League’s headquarters – which, if this were true, would mean they were royally _screwed_.

Or maybe, the trio of lookalikes really were from an alternate earth, and all they were, were just… counterparts.

Because even if, _even if_, it was Wally, there was no guarantee this lookalike was _his_ Wally.

Dick scrubbed at his eyes over his mask. Tim latched onto the movement, and onto the elder Male's arm, “Nightwing, you should go back to the manor, you’re compromised-”

Dick shook his head, standing up from his seat in the common room, shaking his arm free from the younger man's hand. “No, no I need to talk to _him_.”

* * *

The first thing that the Dick lookalike said to him when he entered Wally's holding cell was,

“You aren’t from this dimension.”

Wally shook his head and tried not to stare too much at the younger man.

“Are you a villain?”

“No.”

The Dick lookalike snorted, his lip curled in faint amusement. Wally wanted to cry at how achingly familiar it was.

“Anything to help backup that claim?”

Wally shrugged his shoulders, “Well I did unmask myself.”

Dick frowned and took a seat opposite Wally, “That you did…”

“The big bad Bat know you’re here?”

“Nope.”

“I assumed as much.”

The pair lapsed into silence.

“Is there _anything_ I can do to make you trust me?” Wally tentatively asked.

“Nothing _you_ can do. Martian Manhunter is on his way though.” Dick answered, distracted. Focusing his gaze on Wally, he curiously stated, “Your co-workers can't be happy with you revealing your ID.”

Wally shrugged, “They’ll have to get over it.” He then murmured, “I thought it was for a worthy enough cause.” Dick tensed minutely at his words. Wally wondered what had happened to his counterpart on this earth for Dick to have reacted with such shock earlier when he unmasked himself. Catching the gaze of the dark-haired man, he then wondered what their relationship was on this earth.

Dick stood up, after a few more minutes in silence, pulling Wally out of his musings and turned to leave. Just before he exited out of the holding cell however, he asked, one last chance, one last glimmer of hope, face turned away, “You’re not my Wally are you?”

The resounding silence was answer enough.

The door slammed shut. Wally rested his head on the table in front of him.

* * *

“You got what you needed?” Tim appraised his eldest brother from his seat on the common room’s sofa, after he had returned from the Wally lookalike’s holding cell. The room was thankfully but unusually empty for once, but Tim was making the most of it.

Dick shrugged, before clapping Tim on the shoulder, “Thanks for covering for me.” He slumped down next to Tim, fiddling with his comms unit.

“Sure man. I don’t know why you didn’t talk to him after J’onn verified them though.”

Dick shrugged once more, feeling exhausted, “Morbid curiosity maybe.” He turned his face up toward the ceiling, ignoring Tim’s observation of him. This really wasn't the time for his younger brother to start caring.

Tim chewed at his lip, concern visible only to those who looked for it.

“Maybe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so basically I decided to mash loads of different timelines/stories together because I can.
> 
> So just for some context:
> 
> -the Dick of this universe is basically yj Dick, but outsiders didn't happen ig. Instead, like the comics, he became batman for a year (taking Dami as his Robin), went back to nightwing, then the whole spyral thing happened.  
-on this earth, Dick just finished with spyral
> 
> -Wally on the other hand, took up the mantle of the Flash bc barry could no longer be the flash  
-none of yj ever happened, instead some of the titans stuff happened
> 
> anyway hope that clears shit up, thanks for reading, hope you enjoy :)


	2. Click

“J’onn. Thank you for coming on such short notice.” Clark smiled at the man who nodded in acknowledgement.

“It is no problem. Who would you like me to talk to first?”

Clark and Bruce exchanged a look. “West’s doppelganger.” Bruce requested, thinking of Dick’s expression when the speedster had unmasked himself: a mix of hope, pain, confusion and desperation. Bruce never wanted to see it again on his son’s face.

J’onn nodded in understanding, “Of course.”

The martian entered Wally’s holding cell, as Bruce and Clark positioned themselves behind a bank of monitors to observe. If Bruce hadn't been trained in the art of making body language he would have probably been wringing his hands or picking at scabs.

Clark rested a hand on Bruce’s shoulder, murmuring softly, “I hope it is him. For Dick’s sake.”

The other man only grunted in response, but internally agreed – an evil clone/evil alternate dimension counterpart with Dick’s dead best friend’s face was far more traumatic than a normal counterpart.

“Wallace West.” Wally looked up when J’onn entered his cell, phasing through the wall with a blank expression.

“Martian Manhunter.” Wally replied easily. J’onn gave a curt nod.

“I would like to look into your mind to see if you really are who you declare. Would that be alright?”

Wally snorted, “Doesn’t sound like much of a choice.” Clark tensed slightly. Bruce narrowed his eyes.

J’onn gave a mild smile, “Perhaps not. But it would be easier for everyone involved if you complied.”

“I guess. Go ahead then.” Wally shrugged and leant back in his chair. The pair at the monitors relaxed. J’onn nodded and closed his eyes, probing his mind to find any deception. Bruce and Clark observed the relaxed speedster while they waited for the verdict.

“He agreed to that far more quickly than I thought.” Clark remarked. Bruce ignored him, tilting his head at the redhead, studying him closely.

After a few minutes, J’onn opened his eyes and gave a respectful nod to Wally before exiting. Wally returned the gesture. As soon as he reached the pair outside the cell, he stated, “He is who he claimed. He is from an alternate universe.”

Bruce let out a rush of air that he hadn’t realised he had been holding, “That’s good to hear. We should still check the other two of course.”

J’onn readily agreed, “Of course.” Just as he made a move to cell holding Clark’s doppelganger Bruce called out, “He’s not…?”

J’onn shook his head, eyes filled with sympathy, “No. It is not our Earth’s Wally West.”

Superman thanked the martian, before murmuring to Bruce, “I’m sorry. I know you thought-”

Bruce shrugged him off, “It was just a theory.” He hesitated before continuing in a rare show of trust, admitting, “I just hope Nightwing didn’t have his hopes up.”

Clark just gave him a sad understanding smile, “He still blames himself?”

“Every day I think.” Bruce’s cape swished behind him as he turned back towards the monitors to observe J’onn and the counterparts, effectively ending the conversation.

* * *

Wally tapped his foot on the floor anxiously as he waited. He knew he shouldn’t have let this earth’s J’onn dig around his mind so easily, but Dick seemed to trust him – and he could never picture a world where Dick Grayson was anything but the poster boy for goodness.

Talking to Dick had honestly felt like a stab to the heart. He hadn’t realised quite how much he missed him until he saw again. God, he missed his voice, his laugh, his _eyes_. He desperately wanted to see Dick’s deep sky blue eyes again.

Wally heard the slight hiss of the door mechanic, and looked up. The Flash’s counterpart on this earth entered with a tentative smile filled with hope and disbelief, “Hey,” he said, “I’m here to let you go.” He waved the key to the metacuffs that were currently encasing his wrist and dampening his powers.

“Thanks,” Wally grinned before he continued hesitantly, “…Barry?”

Barry’s grin grew wider and pulled down his cowl. His eyes brimmed with tears, “Yeah Walls. Man, you have no idea how good it feels to talk to you.”

And suddenly it all clicked into place for Wally.

“Oh. I’m dead here.”

Barry continued to stare at him with misty eyes whilst Wally massaged his wrists as he stood up. That explained Dick’s reaction to him earlier. Man, the universe had a cruel sense of humour didn’t it?

“Should we um, go?” Wally asked his uncle’s counterpart uncle slightly awkwardly; the older man could not stop staring at him. Wally couldn't really blame him to be fair.

“Yeah sorry,” Barry shook his head, breaking out of his reverie, “It’s just wow, I missed you so much Walls.” Barry pulled him into a tight hug.

And Wally smiled uncomfortably at that, because how were you meant to respond to that? ‘I’m sorry my counterpart died unlike me, who is currently alive, I’m sure he misses you too?’ Maybe Wally should feel something more than mild discomfort to hear that he was dead here, but honestly, he felt rather apathetic. Living the hero life kind of desensitizes you to this kind of thing.

Barry broke the embrace, “Anyway, I’m meant to take you to the conference room.”

“Is Dick going to be there?” Barry shot him a curious look, but Wally ignored it.

“I don’t know. I think Red Robin was trying to get him to go back home to be honest.” Barry answered, pulling his cowl back on before he led Wally through the long corridors of the Watchtower.

“Right.” Wally tried not to sound disappointed. Barry shot him another curious look. “So, what are things like on this earth?” Wally continued, once they had reached the meeting room. Dinah, Ollie and Hal milled about, sipping coffee.

Barry leaned against the table, “Probably the same as on your earth. Crime does its stuff. The League fights crime.”

“What’s the League like here then?” Wally unconsciously mimicked Barry’s pose and leant next to him.

Barry smiled, “It’s nice. Bigger than it used to be for sure. There’s Superman, Batman, various Green Lanterns, Green Arrow, Black Canary just to name a few heroes. You get the idea.”

“Is Nightwing on the League?” Wally knew he probably sounded fairly odd, asking about Dick so much, but he couldn’t seem to help it, the raven-haired man always tended to preoccupy his thoughts constantly.

“Not really I guess.” Barry frowned, “He’s welcome here whenever he wants, but he’s mainly a solo kinda guy.”

Wally raised his eyebrows, “Really?” Barry nodded and Wally pressed on, “Does he work with the Bats?”

“Sometimes I think. Not as often as he used to.” As Wally digested this new piece of information his dimension's Superman and Wonder Woman walked in, alongside Bruce and J’onn. Dick and Tim did not join.

Bruce seemed to feel no need for pleasantries as he jumped straight in, “Any ideas on how you came here?”

Superman answered on behalf of the trio, his eyebrows knitted as he tried to think back, “Last thing I remember was we were fighting Lex. He had his hands on some alien tech and was trying to activate I think. Next thing I know we’re standing in a field opposite myself.”

“Bats, our Bats, just blew it up I think.” Wally frowned, trying to recall as much as he could of the fuzzy details.

Hal snorted, “That seems unlike him.” Bruce shot him a glare. Hal only smirked in response. Barry eyed them nervously.

“It isn’t,” Wonder Woman agreed, “However we had no choice if I remember correctly. We were running out of time.”

“Any ideas on what the tech was?” Clark enquired, attempting to ignore Hal and Bruce, who continued to stare at each other (smirking and glaring respectively).

“Some kind of teleportation, maybe?” Superman shrugged helplessly at Wally, who returned the gesture.

“You must have been caught in the blast radius.” Bruce stated, looking down and away from Hal first to tap away at a tablet. Hal smirked, feeling victorious that had won the battle of wills.

“Perhaps we can get Zatanna to teleport them back?” Dinah suggested, ignoring Hal’s antics beside her.

Bruce nodded, “If not, we can get in contact with Cyborg.”

“In the meantime,” Dinah continued, “Should our guests stay in the Watchtower?”

The Leaguers of this earth shrugged. “As long as they don’t use their powers and remain inconspicuous, I don’t see why they can’t go earth side.” Clark suggested.

The counterpart trio shared a glance and Superman shrugged, “If it’s only a couple days, I don’t think we mind staying on the Watchtower.”

“Alright,” Dinah agreed, “We’ll show you to some quarters then. Anything else needed to be discussed?”

At everyone’s dissent Dinah smiled, “Meeting adjourned then.”

Wally hastily got up when everyone began to depart. Barry gave him a grin, looking pleased that the trio would have to hang around for an unclear amount of time, “I guess you’re stuck here for a while then. Lemme show you to your quarters.”

Wally agreed with a matching grin, but his thoughts couldn’t help but dwell on Dick. When would he see this earth’s counterpart again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I just wanted to thank you for having such a positive response to this fic, I honestly wasn't expecting that at all, and it honestly made my day when I woke up and saw your messages, so thanks again :)
> 
> Edit 2/2/20:  
Okay so I was rereading this and I just wanted to clarify something:  
-The reason both Dick and Bruce ask if Wally is their Wally even though they know he's from a different dimension is because one theory Bruce had after the Reach Invasion was that Wally had slipped into another dimension, so even if this Wally had been from another dimension, it still could be their Wally


	3. Fly Around the Highway (Try to Get Away)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Slipping off the edge  
Out of phase  
Watching you pretend  
We're okay _

Tim carefully stared at the monitors which currently displayed live feed of Dick using the trapeze equipment. 

As soon as the pair had zeta'd back to the Batcave, the acrobat had changed out of his suit and into a pair of sweats, before starting on the trapeze and seemingly taking no breaks, which brought Tim to the topic at hand.

See, Tim felt conflicted.

On the one hand, Dick could use some comforting, or at least some company, while he grappled with the entity above earth wearing Wally's face, _but_ on the other hand he was still angry at the older man for the whole Spyral saga.

In fact, it was only at the Team's urging had Tim asked for Dick's help with a case earlier; the first time he had done so since the man had come back from playing spy. Both Jason and himself were trying to avoid their older brother entirely, and for once, Dick seemed to respect their wishes and stay away.

Truth be told, Dick only seemed to interact with Damian and Alfred these days. Bruce only talked to Dick when he needed the acrobat, Cass remained in Hong Kong and Steph usually stayed with Tim and the Team.

Tim blew his hair out of his face and continued to stare at Dick.

He wasn't exactly sure why he had helped Dick with talking to the Wally lookalike earlier. A combination of curiosity and lingering misplaced loyalty maybe. Mostly though, Tim put it down to Dick's expression: guilty and lost, shadowed with desperation.

An expression that changed to pain masked with attempted nonchalance after returning from the speedster's cell.

"How long has he been at it?" The sound of heavy boots treading preluded the gruff voice.

Tim answered Jason without looking away.

"Three hours." 

Jason grunted in acknowledgement before walking up the stairs to the manor. Tim gave a last glance at Dick before following suit.

As they left though, Tim saw Damian approaching the trapeze equipment tentatively.

Well at least someone was looking after him, the vigilante reasoned, trying to ignore the conflict brewing in his core.

* * *

Dick knew Tim had been watching him. The teen wasn't being subtle to be fair. 

Dick wasn't really sure where he stood with his brother any more; Tim had kept his distance for the past two months - ever since he had come back from Spyral - yet a couple days ago he had requested Dick's help with the Team, and earlier today he had helped Dick cover his tracks in Wally's cells.

Maybe, _maybe_, he was trying to extend an olive branch. That would be nice.

Man, Dick really hoped so, he missed his little brother a lot.

He missed a lot of things.

The past year had been hard on him; honestly, the last three or four years had been hard on him.

But the past year had been especially difficult: cut off from everyone he knew, with only spies for company, while the rest of the world thought he was dead. It sucked. Majorly.

And then, when he came back, Tim, Jason and his remaining friends were mad at him.

_It wasn't my fucking choice_, he wanted to scream at them,_ I didn't want to go to Spyral, I didn't want everyone to think I was dead._

At this point however, Dick didn't think he had the energy. He didn't have the energy for much these days.

At least Damian was there for him.

Speaking of, the twelve year old was standing beneath the trapeze equipment staring up at him.

Dick made his way down, and tried to give his youngest brother a smile.

"I... I wanted to make sure you felt adequate Grayson. Pennyworth informed me of the situation."

Ah yes. The situation.

"I'm fine Dami," Dick ruffled Damian's hair "Thank you for asking though."

"If you're sure..."

Dick gave a nod, and nudged him towards the stairs up to the manor, "Go upstairs, I'll be along in a second, I just wanna shower."

Damian gave him a nod, as well as what equated to his version of a concerned look, before heading up.

The older man sighed, and scrubbed a hand over his face. As one might guess, he wasn't really fine. But he had to act so for Damian's sake; he couldn't look weak in front of his younger brother, not when Dami looked up to him so much. (And that wasn't a brag, it was the truth: many had told Dick about Damian's idolisation.)

In all honesty, Dick was just trying to ignore the "situation". 

Dwelling upon it felt like it would do no favours. It would just bring up old memories, old feelings. Painful ones.

It didn't help that seeing his best friend's face heightened his constant guilt; guilt that clawed at his shoulders nearly every day for the past three years. 

Dick shook his head to clear his thoughts. Fuck. He was too tired for this shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title and summary taken from Down in Flames by Ella Vos.
> 
> Hi guys, it's been a while. Sorry I haven't been able to update since those first 2 chapters, but I'm on holiday now so more regular updates should be coming :)
> 
> Thank you so much for the amazing comments, they honestly mean so much to me.


	4. Trade Your Heart (For a Second Brain)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I don't want to talk about it  
I don't want to think about it.  
And the worst part of it is:  
That I don't hear from my friends anymore,  
Yeah, everything slows down by 24 _

"I don't understand why I have to be here." Jason's grumbling greeted Dick as he entered the dining room, steeling himself up for an extended period of contact with Jason. 

Before the whole faking his death thing, Dick would have been ecstatic that Jason would join everyone for dinner once a week; but dealing with the younger man now was just exhausting. Jason would constantly send a flurry of scathing comments and eye rolls, while the acrobat tried not to flinch and retort. As much as he hated how Jason treated him, he dared not start a fight for fear of splitting apart his family further and disturbing the tenuous bonds formed during his "death". In fact, this was where this tradition of dining together started, thanks to Alfred.

Once Dick had returned, it continued on, (no matter how much Tim and Jason protested and whined that they didn't want to spend time in the same room as their elder brother.)

"Master Jason..." Alfred warned him.

Damian, who had been slumped at the table, immediately perked up when he saw Dick. Tim noticed this and held in a snort.

"Master Dick." Alfred gave Dick a kind smile, as Dick sat between next to Damian, opposite Tim.

"Alf." Dick gave him a small smile. 

Jason tensed up, and Dick's eyes flickered to him. The younger man met his stare and scowled at him. Dick looked away and hunched in on himself. Damian noticed and started baring his teeth at Jason. Tim just rolled his eyes.

Dick could sense a fight rising and opened his mouth to attempt to diffuse the tension, but was fortunately saved from doing so by Bruce who walked in and sat down. Dick knew for sure that his attempts would just end up escalating a fight: this happened every week after all.

"Bruce." Dick croaked out, sharply reminded of the redhead a thousand miles above him.

Bruce shook his head and Dick curled his fist, staring down at his plate, ignoring the stares of his brothers around him. He already technically knew it wasn't Wally, but Bruce confirming it made it all more real, more final.

"Another dimension. They'll be heading back as soon as Cyborg or Zatanna get in contact."

"Thanks." Dick murmured. Somewhere to his right he heard Jason shift in discomfort.

"I know you thought-"

"It's fine." Dick cut off Bruce, "It was stupid." Better not let Bruce know that he had already visited Wally's cell. Tim stared at Dick with an unreadable expression. Damian and Jason exchanged a look, civil for once.

Bruce nodded stiffly and picked up his cutlery as Alfred sat down next to him.

Dinner continued in silence.

A small mercy at least.

Eventually, Tim and Jason slipped away, and Damian went to feed his animals with Alfred's help, leaving only Bruce and Dick at the table.

"Dick-"

"Yeah, I know, I'm not going to patrol today." Dick muttered, already anticipating his father's words. He knew better than to argue; Bruce probably thought he was too compromised to even grapple off of a building correctly. 

He stood up, pushing his chair in, before throwing out a "See you soon." in Bruce's general direction as he left the room.

"I just want to do what's best for you!" Bruce called out after him, just before Dick slammed the front door shut, frustration getting the better of him. Bruce's attempts to take care of him were in vain. Dick viewed his guardian with wariness and annoyance these days. Sending your son to their death with no extraction plan tended to do that to people.

* * *

Wally paced around his room on the Watchtower restlessly, unable to sleep with his mind running a thousand miles a second. Outside his window the Earth glowed blue, illuminating his room faintly.

Barry had spent some more time with Wally in his guest quarters before rushing off to Central.

His mentor's counterpart had told Wally more about this Earth (though avoided the topic of doppelganger's death), from the Justice Leauge to popular culture, and in turn, Wally had told him about the Titans and JLA.

Wally tried to restrain himself from asking Barry yet more questions about Dick, for fear of sounding like a massive creep, though the odd one did happen to escape him. Wally didn't learn much from this Barry's mildly bemused responses, just that Dick had been adopted at eight, a couple years after the formation of the League, and that Barry didn't often see the younger man anymore.

The faint hiss of the door brought the speedster out of his musing, and the person who entered made him lose his breath.

"Rob."

"KF."

"I didn't know if I was going to see you again."

Dick gave a half smile, "Yeah, B wants you guys to go as soon as possible."

Wally sat down on the bed as Dick leaned against the wall. They stared at each other in silence.

Wally observed the acrobat. He was quite a few years younger than he would be in Wally's universe right now. The speedster could tell by the man's leaner physique and softer features. His face however was no less worn, and Wally could bet that his eyes were filled with pain and exhaustion like his Dick. No matter how happy his Dick had seemed, he never could quite expel the darkness in his eyes. 

This earth's Nightwing was still wearing his domino, but was no longer in his suit; instead he wore an oversized grey hoodie.

For some reason, Wally, through lack of conversational ideas, immediately lost his filter.

"So I hear I'm dead here."

Wally immediately regretted opening his mouth as Dick's face shuttered.

"Yeah..." Dick started to play with a loose thread on the sleeve of his hoodie, discomfort obvious. Wally wondered at how the man freely displayed his emotions, with no sign of an attempt to hide them. Was he that tired that he couldn't summon the energy to at least present himself as indifferent, as was the Bat way?

Wally cleared his throat, and attempted to change the topic when he saw Dick wasn't going to elaborate on that. "You're a lot younger than I expected."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, in my universe you'd-are 27."

Dick seemed to ignore Wally's slip, and quirked an eyebrow, "Well I'm 22 here."

Wally gasped dramatically, clutching at his chest, "A baby!"

Dick snorted, "Oh yeah? How old are you then, old man?"

Wally wagged a finger at him, "Hey respect your elders! And 29."

Dick whistled, "Shit man."

Wally wanted to ask how old his counterpart would be in this world but he didn't really want to see Dick's pained expression again.

"So what's your life like here?"

Dick hummed and sat down on the bed next to Wally. "Well, I'm based in Bludhaven, I go out on patrol, I hang around Gotham sometimes."

"That's all?" Wally nudged him, "No girlfriends, boyfriends?"

Dick shrugged, "Don't really have the time I guess."

"No hanging out with friends at least?" Dick observed Wally, who was trying to aim for teasing but was coming off more concerned.

Dick looked away, "I mean yeah sometimes."

Wally raised an eyebrow.

Dick sighed, "I went undercover recently, and I kind of lost touch with most people. I usually just hang out with Robin."

"Damian?" Dick nodded an Wally smiled. At least some things didn't change. "He have a petting zoo here too?"

Dick huffed out a laugh,"Yup. He recently acquired a litter of kittens during patrol. Bruce wasn't happy. "

Wally laughed and Dick smiled a little wider the sound. "Anyway, enough about my life what about yours?"

Wally leaned back on his hands and tilted his head up as he thought, "Well, I'm the Flash as you probably know, I took over for Uncle B when he retired-"

Dick's eyes widened, "Barry's-?"

"Oh no! No he's fine he's just looking after family." Dick nodded in understanding and Wally continued, "I take care of Central City, but when I'm not off superheroing I'm usually hanging out with friends."

"I bet you like taking long walks on the beach as well, huh?"

"What?" Wally's brow crinkled and Dick held in a laugh.

"Dude, you sound like you're writing a dating profile." Dick teased, shoving Wally lightly.

Wally shoved him back, "Asshole."

Dick snorted and lay back on the bed. Wally unconsciously mirrored him. The two stared up at the white ceiling for a few minutes.

Dick sighed, peeling off his mask.

Wally raised an eyebrow and Dick shrugged, "What? I'm assuming you've seen my eyes before."

Wally's words stuck in his throat, "Yeah... I just- wasn't expecting that." God he missed those ocean blue eyes. Dick looked at him curiously but said nothing.

Examining the acrobat's eyes further he noticed they looked more weary than he remembered.

"You okay?" Wally couldn't help but ask. "You look tired."

Dick gave a ghost of a smile,"Yeah I'm fine."

"You sure?" And, normally Dick wouldn't be so cavalier with a stranger (and stranger the redhead was) but it was still the essence of Wally. And Dick hadn't spoken freely with anyone for the past year, (he couldn't burden Damian or Alfred with his problems and anyone else was out of the question) which is why the man replied with honesty.

"No, not really." He tilted his head toward Wally who had raised himself up onto a forearm, "Jason's just been pretty frustrating lately."

If Wally felt any surprise at the acrobat's admission he didn't show it. "Jason can be frustrating at the best of times on my earth."

"Yeah..." Dick trailed off. 

"Man I could go for some food right now." Wally said flopping his head back, seeing that the younger man didn't seem to want to continue.

"Watchtower canteen isn't doing it for you?" Dick's eyes twinkle in amusement.

"Nothing can beat Big Belly Burgers' fries man, not even food funded by the Bat."

"Well..." Dick paused in thought, "there's nothing _really_ keeping you on the Watchtower is there?" He started to smirk.

"I like the way you think Mr Grayson." Wally mirrored him, leaning up once more.

Dick leapt off the bed and offered Wally a hand, which the redhead accepted with a grin, "I try my best Mr West."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title and summary taken from Dizzy by Waterparks
> 
> happy new year folks!! sorry to keep you waiting, unfortunately I was hit by writer's block and couldn't write out the chapter the way I wanted to. I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that I won't be able to update this as regularly as I had aimed to do, so please do expect long waits between chapters. It's annoying but fairly unavoidable, I'm afraid.
> 
> Thank you again for the lovely comments and kudos.  



	5. Tomorrow is Too Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _So let's pretend that we have no weight on our shoulders  
No time for future, no time for the past  
You know we're young, have time for fun  
We'll open the door and out we run_

"Do you wanna grab some clothes from my apartment first?" Dick said, mask hastily reapplied, as the pair made their way to the Zeta room.

"That would be great, yeah thanks." Wally admitted, looking down at his rather conspicuous, bright red costume.

Dick flashed him a smile as he entered the coordinates for Bludhaven. Thankfully, the two heroes hadn't encountered anyone on their way. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with what they were doing per se, but it would just be uncomfortable to explain, especially if they came across a hero who knew Dick particularly well. 

The acrobat knew everyone would want to discourage Dick from getting close to this Wally. (Well, everyone who still cared at least, so like Bruce and Clark. Barry himself seemed to be getting close to Wally.) To be honest, even Dick knew it was a bad idea. It would ultimately end in heartache once the redhead left. However, it just seemed like too good of an opportunity to miss: hanging out with Wally, one last time, just the two of them, with no tension between them, no anger, no jealousy.

Because, the last time the two had hung out like that, it would have been before the whole Reach invasion, before Jason died. That would have been when he was 16. Fuck. Why did he fuck things up between them again? Oh yeah, because he was a jealous bastard who couldn't ever control his feelings. Guess nothing much has changed, Dick grimaced internally.

Wally glanced at him as if he could hear his inner dialogue, but made no comment. The pair stepped out into the darkened grimy streets of Bludhaven. Thankfully his apartment wasn't too far from the Zeta tube.

Wally had an unreadable expression on his face as he took in the streets of Dick's city. Dick nudged his shoulder with his own, "You okay?"

Wally shook his head to clear it, "It's exactly as remember it..." He murmured. He trailed a gloved hand along the brick of the alley wall. Dick watched him curiously. This Wally seemed to flip between from incredibly jovial and untroubled to pensive and forlorn. Dick could barely remember a time when his Wally had acted the latter.

"Haven't been to the 'Haven in a while?" Dick attempted to joke.

Wally's eyes snapped to Dick standing in the middle of the alley as if he had forgotten the acrobat standing there. "Yeah... you could say that." Wally ran his hands through his hair. "Your apartment's opposite the Thai place on the corner?"

Dick quirked his lip in a half smile, "The very same."

Wally gave the younger hero a two fingered salute and a thin smile, "See you there." The speedster fled the alley.

Dick snorted, and grappled off in the direction of his apartment. 

When he entered through the window, Wally was studying the pictures on the wall.

Dick ignored him and entered his bedroom, pulling out a pair of jeans that must have belonged to Jason at some point judging by the size, as well as a tshirt and hoodie from his closet.

He passed them to Wally who thanked him before getting dressed in the blink of an eye, leaving a breeze which ruffled Dick's hair. 

Dick peeled off his mask once more as Wally stuffed the costume into his ring.

Wally tilted his head at the photo wall, "Not many recent ones."

Dick let out a breath, "Like I said, I've been undercover recently. And there are a couple that are more recent." 

He pointed out a few pictures: one with Damian and himself that Alfred had taken one day in the manor grounds, one with Damian and Steph, where the blonde was pulling a funny face to try and crack the former's unimpressed facade, another with Cass and himself after one of her ballet recitals, and one more with Damian and all his animals.

"Damian and Steph?" Wally enquired.

"We took that one night before patrol. It was during the time I was Batman: Dami was my Robin and Steph my Batgirl."

Wally gave him a considering look. "It's nice. My Dick never really hung out with Steph."

Dick shrugged, he couldn't exactly speak for his counterpart, but he treasured having Steph at his side; the fiery blonde had helped to keep him sane and tried to replenish his diminishing optimism during his stint under the cape and cowl. 

Wally huffed out a laugh before making his way to the door, "Well, you coming Boy Wonder? There are milkshakes calling our name."

Dick snorted and threw his keys into his pocket. "Yeah yeah, I'm right behind you Walls."

* * *

The two heroes sat in a park in Central eating their food: Wally with two burgers and fries and an oreo milkshake and Dick with a side of fries plus a vanilla milkshake.

"Man, I haven't been to Central in a while." Dick commented absently.

"What, too bright for your taste? Not enough crime?" Wally teased, jabbing Dick in the side.

Dick slurped his milkshake obnoxiously while he rolled his eyes. "Not enough gargoyles dude. Where am I meant to brood?"

"Ah yes, my apologies; how could I ever forget them?" Dick snorted at the speedster's deadpan tone.

Central was pretty quiet right now, being 2am on an early Monday morning. If one strained, they could hear the faint noise of traffic in the distance. The sky was still pitch black but the area of the park they were in was well lit with streetlights, casting gold beams.

"So, any plans for today?" Wally asked finishing off a burger.

"Not really no. Was just gonna go over some cases." Dick shrugged.

"No day job?"

Dick shook his head, stealing a fry off of Wally. "Not anymore, no. I had to quit it since... before I went undercover."

Wally hummed as he contemplated the nature of this 'undercover' mission. Dick sounded so weary whenever he mentioned it.

"What were you?"

"Police officer." Dick answered with a nostalgic smile. "It was good. The BPD is pretty corrupt, but I felt like I had been able to do a little. Improve lives. Best impact I've ever made, maybe."

His smile faded. "Could have done more but I had to quit for a year, and then a couple months after I had returned I had to quit officially."

Wally leant against Dick slightly. The acrobat startled slightly before leaning into him too.  
It was wierd. Dick thought he should have been a little more torn-up about Wally who was not his Wally, but the pair had settled into a familiar routine within less than 3 hours.

Wally drank some more of his milkshakes as he observed the younger man out of the corner of his eye. The streetlights had turned Dick even prettier: long lashes and pink lips, blue eyes and sharp cheekbones highlighted with gold. He looked so young here. Too young to carry the burdens hanging heavy on his shoulders. Wally never remembered the acrobat on his earth looking so weighed down at this age. Then again, perhaps he just hadn't noticed it; all their friends were haunted by some demon or other; it was hard to distinguish and realise the abnormality of their lives without age.

The pair contemplated in silence for a while, until Dick broke it. "You wanna hang out with Dami today?"

Wally raised an eyebrow, "Won't he tell Bruce or something? I know you're not telling him we're together."

Dick smirked at the phrasing, "Aw babe, I could never be ashamed of you, I just don't want Bruce to scare you off Sugar-cheeks."

Wally whined dramatically, "But darling, I want to ask him for your hand in marriage!!"

Dick gasped, "Babe!!"

The two heroes collapsed in laughter, which echoed around the park. Eventually Dick managed to sober up and wiped at his eyes. "No, Damian won't tell. He'd want to meet you anyway I think." The younger hero said, casting his mind back to the time when the pair visited Wally's grave.

_The latest iteration of the Dynamic Duo stood in front of a simple white headstone._

_"Happy birthday Wally." Dick murmured, bending down to gently place a bunch of flowers in front of the headstone. "Sorry it's been a while since I last came. Things have been a little hectic." He let out a humourless laugh._

_Standing up, he brought Damian forward with a light hand on his shoulder. "This is Damian, Walls. Bruce's bio son with Talia Al Ghul. Pretty crazy right?"_

_Damian stared curiously up at Dick._

_"I'm Batman now as well. Bruce is... well, he's gone, and someone needed to take up the cowl..."_

_Noticing Dick was now having difficulty speaking, Damian stepped forward._

_"West... I..." Damian took a breath,"Grayson speaks very highly of you. I would have been pleased to make your acquaintance some day."_

_Dick wrapped an arm around Damian. They both pretended it didn't shake. "Thanks kiddo." He whispered to his youngest brother. _

_"See you soon Walls."_

"Alright then." Wally agreed, pulling Dick out of his thoughts. "Sounds like a plan."

"You wanna go back to mine in the meantime then, after we finish up here? I don't know about you, but I could go for a nap." Dick rubbed at his eyes and attempted to hold in the increasing urge to yawn.

"Sure." Wally smiled; at least it seemed this version of Dick made more than a half-hearted attempt to sleep, even if he possessed contradictory dark circles hanging under his eyes. The redhead couldn't remember the last time his Dick went to sleep voluntarily.

"Great." Dick shot him a tired smile back. "I'd say race you to the zeta but I can barely be asked to get up."

Wally was tempted to offer to carry him, but was swiftly reminded by his subconscious that he had only known this Dick for a couple hours, and not years. The speedster held his tongue, and instead responded, "I thought I was supposed to be the old man out of us."

"Oh no, I think you can definitely keep that title." Dick teased as they got up and binned their trash.

Wally snorted, "Gee, thanks. I'm middle aged at most."

"Sure, and I'm jail bait." Dick snarked back as the pair headed in the direction of the nearest zeta.

Wally paused, and gave the younger man a slow, considerate once over. Dick flushed, red hot. Wally just smirked. "Sure." He drew out the vowel.

"Hey!" Dick protested. Where the hell did that come from? "I'm not that young!"

"22 is young enough to me."

Dick sputtered, "I'm old enough to drink!"

Wally rolled his eyes. "Barely."

Dick pouted, still slightly flushed. Wally couldn't stop himself from snorting. "Pouting really isn't helping you case, you know." Dick pouted further. "Come on Rob, I believe I was promised a nap?"

Dick trailed after Wally to the Zeta, grumbling the whole way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title and summary taken from We Stayed Up All Night by Tourist
> 
> Hey guys, sorry for another long wait, school honestly takes up a lot of time so I don't always have a lot of time to write/edit chapters. However, this chapter is a little longer than my usual ones, so I hope that makes up for it a little bit.
> 
> Another massive thank you to everyone for the comments and kudos <3
> 
> Til next time :)


	6. It's Strange, But It's True

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _But life still goes on  
I can't get used to living without, living without  
Living without you by my side  
I don't want to live alone_

Dick awoke to the sound of what seemed like the force of a hurricane attempting with all its might to bash the door in, intermixed with shrill cries of "Grayson!! Open up this instant!"

Groaning, he rolled off of the sofa and shuffled towards the front door, ignoring the sound of Wally blearily stumbling around Dick's room.

Opening the door, he scrubbed a hand over his eyes to reveal Damian, scowling up at his eldest brother.

"You know," Dick mumbled conversationally, "You could have just let yourself in."

Damian crossed his arms and sniffed, "The last time I attempted doing so, I saw your engaements in sexual activity on your sofa, which I pray you have burnt by now." Damian gave him a meaningful look.

Dick rolled his eyes. "You barely saw anything. I was mostly clothed!"

"Your partner, I assure you, was undoubtedly not!" 

Speaking of the barely clothed, Wally chose this exact moment to exit Dick's bedroom, wearing only a pair of low hanging sweats.

"Hey," The redhead said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "Do you mind if I borrow a shirt again?"

At the speedster's appearance Damian squawked, going bright red, and shrieked, "Grayson!"

Then, recognising Wally, shrieked even louder, "West!"

At Damian's outburst, Wally recoiled in shock, eyes wide.

Dick facepalmed, and without looking at either individual muttered out, "Wally, sure, top drawer; Dami, kitchen." Seeing Damian frozen, still in the doorway, gaping at Wally who was hurriedly retreating back into the bedrooom, ground out, "_Now_."

Damian finally shook himself from his stupor and stomped after Dick into his small kitchen.

"_What_," Damian hissed, "Do you think you're doing?"

Dick held up an hand in an attempt to halt Damian's tirade, "Damian, can you please let me speak-?"

"-of all the irresponsible things-"

"Now you're beginning to sound like Bruce." Dick observed dryly, as Damian ranted on, turning a rather unflattering colour.

"-why would you think this a good idea-?"

"-to be fair, I'm pretty sure it isn't-"

"-bout of stupidity possessed you-"

Dick frowned, "-hey who are you calling stupid?"

"-even Todd in his ever constant descent into madness would never-"

"Hey, hey, _hey_ !" Dick called out in an attempt to get his younger brother's attention, and possibly defend his brother's honour (though a small traitorus part of him felt glad that Damian was shitting on Jason). Damian looked up at him, surly at the interruption.

Dick sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair, "Look Dami, I understand where you're coming from, I really do, and I appreciate what you're trying to do," (At this Damian let out another indignant squawk; his younger brother really wasn't one for admitting to care for someone other than himself or his animals.) "However, I'm just keeping Wally company until he returns back to his Earth; there's no harm in that."

Damian clenched his jaw, an unfortunate habit he must have picked up from Bruce. "There will be." The younger boy muttered, not looking the elder in the eye.

Dick approached the tense boy, "Look Dami," He said softly, "Let's just go out today. You, me and Wally. You know that I always wanted to introduce you two." It was a little manipulative sure, but Dick hadn't spent as much time with Damian as he had wanted to these past few days, and Wally probably didn't have much time left before Bruce would find a way back home; the acrobat wanted to spend as much time as he could with the speedster.

Damian frowned but Dick could tell he was relenting. "Fine. But you owe me extra ice cream."

Dick relaxed and gave him a small smile. They both knew that the acrobat would have bought him extra ice cream regardless.

"It's just a day anyway Dami."

Damian gave him an approximation of a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. As Dick started pulling out cereal for himself and toast for Wally, Damian mumbled softly, avoiding his eldest brother's eyes, "You _are_ alright Grayson?"

Dick gave him a fond smile and Damian relaxed minutely. "Yeah. I am."

* * *

The trio grabbed a booth in Dick's favourite diner, a small homely place off of the main road, with regular customers and friendly waiters. Its sunny yellow walls were dotted with vinyls, sketches and instruments, and its red booths were worn with age and use.

Wally scanned the menu as Damian, sitting opposite, observed the redhead curiously. Dick put his arm around his younger brother and gave him a knowing smile. Damian scowled but still shuffled closer to Dick.

A pleasant but tired looking waiter shuffled up to them, and, catching sight of Dick brightened up considerably, "Hey Richie, how are you man?"

Dick grinned up at them, scrubbing a hand through his hair, "Not too bad Ash, how about you?"

Ash shrugged, "Eh, same as usual, you know how it is."

Dick snorted, "Bri on your ass again?"

Ash rolled their eyes, "No, for once it's Rog."

"Rog?" Dick wrinkled his nose. Wally inwardly cooed at his expression.

Ash leaned towards Dick, whispering conspiratorially, "He accidentally dyed his hair green," They tilted their head towards a sullen looking man behind the counter, his hair dyed an unflattering shade of green, "He's been in a bad mood all week." 

Dick laughed as Ash straightened up. "Anyways how are you man?" Ash said, turning to Damian, "How's the turkey...Jerry?"

Damian beamed when they remembered, "Yes, Jerry is well, he acclimatised perfectly to the grounds."

The waiter grinned, "That's great to hear! I hope your dad didn't freak out too much when he saw him."

Dick silently shook with laughter as Damian told Ash about Bruce waking up in bed one day, only to be met with Jerry's beak a centimetre from his face. Wally took in the story wide-eyed.

"Bro that's amazing I love that," Ash snorted, desperately trying to hold in their remaining laughter behind their hand.

Turning to Wally, they immediately said, "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I haven't introduced myself, I'm Ash." They held out a hand.

Wally shook it, chuckling as he said, "No worries man, I was just trying to choose something to eat anyway. I'm Wally, nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too! And I totally reccomend the blueberry pancakes; they are to die for."

"It's true," Dick nodded solemnly, "Dami and I get them every time."

Wally laughed, "Well in that case.."

Ash quickly took down their order, before winking at Dami, and ruffling Dick's hair as they left the heroes' booth.

"Jerry huh?" Wally asked sipping on his coffee.

"Yeah, Dami saved him from the slaughterhouse a while back." Dick chuckled.

"What other animals do you have?" The speedster asked, attempting to engage the younger boy in conversation so that he would stop scowling at him.

Damian visibly perked up at the mention of his animals.

"Well there's Titus, he's a..." The former assassin chatted on animatedly to Wally, as Dick hid a smile behind his mug, happy to see the pair get on.

"Here you go," a waiter dropped off their pancakes, "Enjoy!" The trio dug in, as Damian continued.

This honestly felt like a dream to Dick. Two of the most important people in his life that should never have been fated to meet, next to him in a domestic scene right out of a movie. He may have been down on his luck the past few years, but it seemed like the universe was finally making up for it. 

The acrobat was pulled out of his thoughts by Damian turning to him, eyes pleading, "Can West come to the manor? I really want to show him BatCow."

Dick sighed, shaking his head amusedly, "Dami-"

"Father is unlikely to be home, and Todd will not be there either!" Damian interrupted Dick, and the acrobat relented.

"Fine sure. Only because I know Bruce will be in the Watchtower."

Damian cheered and Wally whooped, causing Dick shake his head in good humour at their antics. The current Robin excitedly launched into a story about Alfred, Batcow and a pack of balloons as Wally intently listened, wheezing with laughter every few seconds.

Well, the manor would be an unexpected detour, but Dick was sure Alfred would want to meet Wally. Probably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title and summary taken from I Want To Break Free by Queen
> 
> Hey guys, I just wanted to apologise for taking so long to post this. I had a lot going on, and I honestly just didn't know what to put in this chapter. But, thankfully (and finally) I managed to write it. 
> 
> Sidenote, the next chapter will probably come out in at least 2-3 weeks time as I have exams during this period.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this little domestic chapter and bonus points to anyone who catches the very unsubtle references lmao.
> 
> Massive thanks to everyone leaving kudos and comments, I actually went through them the other day and it helped a lot with getting the motivation to write this chapter. <3


	7. After All of This is Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Oh seriously,  
You're gonna make mistakes,  
You're young.  
Come on baby play me something,  
Like Here Comes the Sun___

"Alfie?" Dick called out, his voice echoing in the large foyer of the manor.

"Master Dick, I was not expecting you, what brings you here today-" Alfred came bustling in, feather duster in hand, before catching sight of Wally and stopping short, clutching at his chest.

"My God..." Alfred's eyes were wide as he stared at the speedster.

"Uh, hi Alfred." Wally awkwardly waved. Damian looked between the two with a frown.

"Pennyworth, are you quite alright?"

Alfred managed to shake himself out of his stupor and pull himself together. "Yes of course Master Damian, I was merely surprised at Master Wallace's unexpected appearance."

Thoroghly composed once more, he raised his eyebrow and asked, "So what may I do for you all?"

"Well Dami here," Dick patted said boy's shoulders causing Damian to snarl and bat his hands away, "Wanted to show Wally the menagerie of animals he calls his pets."

"Ah yes of course." Alfred managed to keep a straight face. "Well, I have just sent Batcow to the grounds so you would do well to look for her there."

"Grayson! You and West find Batcow and I shall find Alfred and Titus." Damian ordered, his high pitched voice allowing for precisely zero resistance.

"Sure thing Dami, let's go KF. Thanks Alfie!" Dick called out, as he gave Wally a small smile and shake of his head, leading the redhead back outside as they began to search for the elusive cow.

"Well, that was... odd." Wally trailed as soon as he figured he was out of earshot of the butler.

"Hm?" Dick raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well I mean, Alfred's always really stoic yknow, and I don't really know him that well to be honest."

"You don't?" Dick frowned as his gaze swept over the garden.

"I mean I never really came round to the manor, since you and Bruce _were_ always fighting."

The acrobat had a strange look on his face at that. Wally tried and failed to decipher it. Dick blinked and shrugged his shoulders, "Well we've known each other since I was 10. You've been coming round to chill ever since."

The redhead's eyebrows shot up. "_Batman_ let me into his _house_ at _12_?"

Dick snorted at Wally's expression and rolled his eyes, "Well obviously he didn't let you into the Batcave. Not that that stopped us."

At Wally's further fearful expression Dick let out a cackle.

"Oh my god. Batman totally wants to kill mini-me."

"Nah he doesn't," Dick snorted again, "I wouldn't let him anyway."

Wally leaned into the acrobat's space and fluttered his eyelashes, "Aw you'd risk his wrath just for little old me? Careful Grayson, I might get the wrong idea."

Dick grinned widely and pushed the taller man away, "Asshole." 

"Now Rob, that's no way to treat a lady-"

"Have you two finished flirting yet because I've found Batcow!" Damian's shrill voice greeted them as they turned around to see Damian holding an unhappy Alfred in his arms and Titus rolling around at his feet, standing next to the one and only, Batcow.

Wally looked impressed as he walked over and patted the bovine. "She's very nice. You must take good care of her." 

Damian flushed but he glowed with the praise. "Thank you West. I believe she likes you." Dick gave Damian a smile which made the younger boy's smile inch slightly wider. He was so proud of his little brother.

Damian set Alfred onto the grass and the cat began to clean himself after balefully staring at his owner. Dick squatted down to gently tickle him under his chin.

Damian pulled a ball out from somewhere, "I brought a ball, I thought we could exercise Titus together?" He suggested slightly shyly, his eyes bright with hope. "I haven't let him out much today." He added quickly.

Wally grinned, "I would love to. How could one resist such an opportunity?" He flourished his limbs dramatically, startling Alfred began to bolt only to be caught by Dick. Damian threw Wally the ball and Wally threw it across the grounds much to Titus' excitement.

The trio messed around the garden until the sun began to set, playing with the animals and wrestling each other to the ground until Alfred eventually ushered them in, chastising them all for the grass stains on their clothes, which had occured during a fierce game of tag.

"You will be staying for dinner, I assume?" Alfred raised an eyebrow at Dick and Wally who had changed into some non-stained clothing, and were making their way toward the foyer for a quiet getaway.

"Ah well, Alfie," Dick rubbed at the back of his neck, "I really do need to go for patrol and-"

Alfred looked unamused. Dick dropped his arm and sighed. "Yes. Fine, we are." He said begrudgingly.

"If it makes you feel any better Master Dick, Bruce is attending other affairs in the Watchtower." The butler said as he led them toward the dining room.

"I suppose." Dick grumbled. Wally looked at him curiously. Dick steadfastly didn't meet his eyes.

Damian brightened up as they appeared, tucking away his phone from Alfred's disproving gaze much to Wally's amusement.

Alfred served them their plates before taking a seat himself next to Damian. The four talked about a multitude of things, from the differences between their universes, to the right conditions for growing cacti. It was clear, however, by the end of the meal, that Alfred had an ulterior motive.

"So Master Wallace, I suppose you will be returning to the Watchtower now."

"Oh well-" Wally fumbled; he and Dick hadn't really discussed it, but Wally was under the impression that Dick wanted him to stay at his apartment for a little longer.

"He's staying with me." Dick said assertively, locking eyes with Wally. Wally gave a quick grin.

"At your Bludhaven apartment? Dear me, Master Dick, and where are the two of you sleeping?"

Dick sighed, already anticipating Alfred's next words. " It's fine Alfie, I'm taking the couch."

"Master Dick, I do insist that the pair of you stay at the manor for the duration of Master Wallace's stay, since it appears to me that you will be making the most of your time together. It will be much more comfortable for both of you."

"Alfred you know how Bruce-" Dick said, slightly sharply. Bruce probably already knew that he had taken Wally out and was probably stewing in anger. Dick wanted to avoid that conversation at all costs.

"Leave Master Bruce to me." Alfred countered easily, taking another sliver of cherry pie. Dick tensed, not wanting to anger the butler but also not wanting to concede.

"Please Grayson?" Damian chimed in softly. Well. That was a dirty tactic. Damian knew that the acrobat could barely resist him when it came to matters like this.

Dick sighed and glanced at Wally, who gave a minute shrug. "Okay." He said tiredly, "Okay."

Quirking a smile, he asked Alfred, already knowing the answer, "I suppose you don't want me to patrol either."

Giving his grandson a soft smile, the graying man chuckled, "You know me too well Master Dick. Bludhaven can live without you for one more night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title and summary taken from Gimme Sympathy by Metric
> 
> Hey guys, I've finally come out with the next chapter woo woo. Sorry that it took so long again, I've just been busy with school unfortunately. I'm already writing the next one though, so hopefully that'll be out by next week :)
> 
> Thank you so much again to everyone's comments and kudos, you're all absolutely amazing <3


	8. Find Exactly What We're Looking For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _You are a radar detector  
I drive 1,000 miles an hour  
I won't go on and on  
But you are always looking out for me___

Wally emerged from the guest bedroom fully dressed, in jeans and a tight white muscle tee, running a hand through his hair. He was pretty sure the clothes Alfred had given him had been Jason's at some point, but Wally supposed the younger vigilante couldn't protest, given the infrequent use of them since they resided at the manor.

The speedster paced up and down the hallway until Dick blearily stumbled out of his childhood bedroom, still in the sweats he had slept in and a faded Superman tshirt. Blinking at Wally, the younger man took in the redhead's clothing.

"Wow, dressed to impress much?." He commented, trying to hold in a laugh.

"I wanted to make a good impression. Turning up to breakfast in sweats at a manor doesn't exactly scream courteous guest to me." Wally poured, crossing his arms defensively.

Dick rolled his eyes and gave the older man a teasing smile, "It's only going to be Dami and Alfred."

"Still." Wally fell into step beside the acrobat as they made their way back down to the dining room.

Dick peered down at his attire and gave the redhead a teasing grin, "So you think I'm being discourteous?" Wally hurriedly began to protest and attempt to backtrack on his words. The acrobat threw his head back and laughed at the man's clumsy stuttering.

When they reached the dining room Damian was already seated and crunching on a slice of toast, attempting to slyly feed Titus a couple strips of bacon from a plate. Alfred must have been somewhere in the kitchen, as the smell of frying was wafting out, tantalisingly, making Wally's mouth water.

Unexpectedly however, was a blonde's appearance at the table, sitting where Wally had sat last night.

"Hi!" Steph beamed out, greeting them loudly as she cut up some fresh waffles covered in cream. In contrast, Damian only grunted in greeting.

"Steph." Dick smiled, surprised but not displeased, "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"Well," She waved her fork around, "I was passing through Gotham, and I thought I couldn't miss Alfred's waffles, second only to my own."

Damian tutted, rolling his eyes, "Alfred's waffles are superior and you know it. You're only afraid to concede your defeat."

Steph pouted, "Harsh."

Dick took a seat next to the blonde and started helping himself to the cereal. Wally chose to sit opposite Dick next to Damian and awkwardly reached out to pour himself some orange juice.

"And I suppose you are the mysterious Mr West." Steph wiggled her eyebrows. "A little birdie told me you'd be here."

Wally chuckled, "Yeah, Alfred convinced us to stay here until I leave."

"I knew there was an ulterior motive to you coming for breakfast." Dick flourished his hands dramatically. Wally reached out for a slice of toast and some butter under his arm.

"Tt. As if that wasn't obvious already." Dick reached across the table to muss Damian's perfectly gelled hair, nearly knocking the jar of maple syrup in process.

Steph rolled her eyes, "I mean you can hardly blame me, you're the current talk of the tower." Alfred materialised from somewhere and served Wally some scrambled eggs. The speedster thanked him as the butler whipped back away to the kitchen, coat-tails almost flying out behind him.

Dick frowned, pausing his spoon's journey to his mouth, "They know it's Wally?" Titus crackled on a particularly crispy piece of bacon.

Steph shook her head, "Nah everyone's just intrigued in general about the latest box office hit, Into the Justice League Verse." Wally wheezed, his fork halfway into his mouth. 

"Gotta say, Supes is really chatting up a storm." Steph added, causing Damian to wrinkle his nose.

"But _I'm_ particularly interested since it's a certain speedster." The blonde winked at Dick who gave a light flush and kicked out at Steph's ankles, nearly hitting Titus in the process, much to Damian and the dog's displeasure. Wally raised an eyebrow.

"Hang on, where's Tim? I thought he'd be with you?" Dick said, as it suddenly occurred to him that Steph did not have their resident caffeine addict by her side.

Steph shrugged, "Dunno. Working on a case I guess." She tapped her chin in contemplation, "That or trying to soothe Bruce's volcano of sudden fury."

"He knows about the trip to Bludhaven I take it?" Dick took a long sip of coffee. Damian's plate of bacon was now empty, having been fed entirely to Titus. Wally warily watched as Damian began to eye his bacon.

"Pretty sure he knew as soon as you two entered the Zeta room."

Dick winced.

Wally piped up, deciding Damian wouldn't steal his bacon with Dick in such close vicinity, "Do you know when he might be coming?"

Steph gave him a playful smile, "So you can vacate the manor?"

"Amongst other things..."

Steph laughed, "Well he'll probably come in about two hours, since Alfred usually gives him a curfew of 12pm when he's hanging with his superfriends."

Dick responded by dropping his head into his bowl of cereal.

Steph reached over and patted his arm, hands sticky with syrup, "There there, at least you'll get it over and done with."

Dick gave a mournful noise of assent, ignoring the now sticky patch on his arm.

Alfres came in once more, handing Wally another plate of scrambled eggs and giving Damian a reprimanding glare when he caught sight of Titus under the table.

"Not joining us Alf?" Dick mumbled in his bowl of cereal.

"I'm afraid not Master Dick, I had already eaten." The butler replied, not even remotely phased by the man's antics.

Wally managed to suppress his laughter as Dick said "M'kay" unlike Steph, who outright snickered.

"So any plans today?" Steph asked a little while later, having finished her waffles.

Dick spooned the last of his soggy cereal into his mouth before starting to clear his section of the table away, "Nothing concrete no. Any particular things you wanna do?" He directed at Wally.

Wally shrugged, "Not really man, I'm down with whatever."

"Right then, well I'm gonna get changed and then we can decide what's next on the parallel dimension holiday bucket list." Dick pointed finger guns at Wally before spinning around and calling out, "See you later guys."

Wally made an awkward aborted movement towards the door. "I'm just...gonna go follow him."

Steph snorted and saluted as the redhead awkwardly left. Seeing him walk out at a normal speed somehow increased the sense of his discomfort.

With the two gone, Steph turned to Damian, who was stroking Titus's fur thoughtfully, "Alfred convinced them to stay, huh?"

"Of course." Damian sniffed.

"Odd how they found themselves at the manor in the first place, isn't it."

"Are you implying something Brown?"

Steph raised her hands placatingly, "I'm just saying you would have known Alfred would make them stay at the manor."

Damian sniffed but made no comment.

"You miss Dick don't you?" Steph had a knowing smile on her face.

"I do no such thing!" Damian said hotly, turning an unflattering shade of red. It was at times like these that Steph could really see the resemblance between Damian and his father.

Steph raised an eyebrow and Damian deflated slightly, "These circumstances have created a reason for Grayson to stay over, yes."

Steph grinned triumphantly and Damian seeing her expression immediately burst out, "It would be foolish not to take advantage of the situation. I barely see Grayson as it is, West would just take up more of his time."

Steph's eyes softened, and reached over, ruffling the boy's hair, "You know, if you told Dick you missed him he'd definitely take more time with you."

Damian batted her hands away, "I will do no such thing Brown!"

Steph snorted and shook her head, as the pair started to clear away the table, bringing everything back to the kitchen "You know, I'm pretty sure he would appreciate if you told him you miss him. It would probably make him feel happy."

Damian just shot her a sullen look in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title and summary taken from Radar Detector by Darwin Deez
> 
> Hey guys, just wanted to say thank you again for your continued support, it really means the world to me <3 I know I say that kinda thing for every chapter i post but it's true I promise!!


	9. Wanna Know My deal? (The Reason I Can't Deal)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _You can't tell me how to be myself,  
Just wait, I'm gonna try my best to figure it out for myself  
You can't break me down again or change my mind on this,  
I'm breaking out of this, your darkness_

Bruce arrived at the manor with all the fanfare of a burning oil rig, his eyes stormy and jaw set. Rapidly stripping off the suit, he silently stomped his way to the parlour where the breakfast quartet were currently sitting.

Idly, Wally mused upon Tim's apparent failure to placate the dark knight before zipping off to the bathroom like he and Dick had agreed. Wally being the first person that Bruce saw probably wouldn't end terribly well. 

However, as he hid in the black tiled bathroom, staring at his pale reflection, he couldn't help but feel like a slight coward. 

He was like semi-confident that he could take Bruce in a fight. Probably. 

But he was doing this for Dick. The younger man didn't want to upset the tenuous bonds holding the family together, something Damian agreed with vehemently. Wally figured the kid knew that if Dick and Bruce fought, he wouldn't be able to see the acrobat for a while. Guess Dick and Bruce's relationship was twisted in every universe.

Outside of the bathroom, in the parlour, the aforementioned dynamic duo were currently undergoing a staring contest; Bruce looking like he was about to foam at the mouth and Dick just watching him tiredly.

The other occupants in the room, Steph and Damian, eyed the exit currently being blocked by the Bat. The blonde half wondered if she could jump out the window to escape the mounting tension. The other half of her amusedly snorted at how Jason believed he had the worst fights with Bruce.

"Dick." Bruce eventually growled, seeing his eldest was not going to relent.

"Bruce," Dick responded calmly, though Damian could see he was exercising great restraint through the slight tick in his jaw, "Should we move this to the cave?"

Bruce's eyes darted towards Damian. Not replying, he spun around and made his way towards the office. The move was much less intimidating without the cape.

As Dick made his way to follow his guardian, Damian gave him a supportive nod and Steph gave a thumbs up. His mouth twitched up in an approximation of a smile that ultimately appeared more similar to a grimace. 

Dick exited the warm safety of the parlour, trading it for the seeping cold of his childhood home; the journey felt reminiscent to walking to one's execution. He could barely keep pace with the Bruce; the Bat was flying down the halls of Wayne Manor, a grim determination in his shoulders. Dick fervently wished he was back in Bludhaven, pollution and crime be damned.

When the pair reached the cave, Dick barely one step into it, Bruce exploded.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing Dick?"   
The man began his verbal assault; giving no time at all for the acrobat to formulate a response before the Bat launched into a tirade.

"Taking the Flash out of the Watchtower without alerting anyone, using the Zeta for personal use and pleasure, gallivanting around the country! Bringing him to the manor, for fuck sake, letting him sleep over? What the hell are you thinking? Your behaviour is incredibly irresponsible and unbecoming of some of your age and knowledge, I should bench you!"

Dick's anger and frustration grew as Bruce kept roaring, and he snapped, "What the fuck Bruce, don't even try to pull that crap with me! Wally has no obligation to report to the Watchtower, and frankly, neither do I. And _gallivanting_?" Dick let out a ringing sarcastic laugh, "I wouldn't call the journey from Blud to Central, gallivanting. And as for benching me? You have no goddamn power over when I do or do not perform my duties."

Bruce growled, gearing up to fight further, "In case you missed this little nugget of information _Richard_, you are a _member_ of the Justice League, and that means you report to the Watchtower."

Dick rolled his eyes, hackles raised, "Right, because they're all my greatest fans right now. Truly. Wednesday was my first time up there in _months_ Bruce, and I seem to have been able to get by without reporting to them every goddamn second."

"You know that taking the Flash out without letting anyone know, would raise alarms, anything could have happened."

"And yet it didn't," Dick shot back, "And no one's any the worse for it."

Bruce let out a groan of frustration before he took a breath, continuing more quietly, "Why are you doing this Dick?" 

The acrobat was caught off guard; he had been expecting Bruce to fire back, not give in; his notorious anger had dissipated into weary exhaustion.

"Bruce I just..." Dick sighed, feeling the urge to sit down for a while, "I need this. Just a couple last moments to say goodbye."

Bruce frowned, "I thought you had moved on."

Dick huffed a laugh, but didn't answer; Bruce should know as well as anyone how hard it was to move past a loved one's death. It was pure naivety on his part to think his eldest son would be alright after his best friend died in front of his eyes. Or maybe it was just willful ignorance, not wanting to deal with Dick unless he was content and smiley. The vigilante didn't really know, and didn't really care at this point.

Bruce surveyed him critically, but also with a glint of pity in his eyes, "There's no guarantee this will make you feel better."

Dick gave a slight quirk of his lips, "No."

"You could end up feeling worse."

"I know."

Bruce scrubbed a hand over his face. His 5 o'clock shadow made him look aged and tired. "Do you Dick? Do you _really_?" Dick remained silent. "I still remember how you were when Wally died, I can't watch you go through that again."

"Can't or won't?"

Bruce sighed, "Please Dick. Reconsider this. I care about you-"

"Yet you'll beat me into submission after I flatline and force me to lie to the world." Dick quietly cut him off, turning away.

"Huh?"

Dick saw Bruce's confused expression out of the corner of his eye. "Dick, you have to understand, that was different, there was a threat to global security-"

Dick cut him off, "Okay Bruce," This time, he scrubbed a hand over his face, "I get it. I really do. I don't need to hear your excuses."

Bruce blinked, "Right then. Okay. Glad to hear you understand."

"Mhm." Dick turned away, just wanting to be away from Bruce now, finally stumbling on a chance to end their conversation. He began to head up toward the Manor, pausing at the last second to call out behind him, facing away from Bruce, "Wally and I are staying here until he leaves by the way. Alfred insisted."

Bruce's expression soured and Dick just pulled his arms around himself as the door swung shut behind him; preventing his guardian from protesting and claiming that the conversation was not over yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title and summary taken from They Wanted Darkness by Frank Iero and the Patience
> 
> Hi guys! Sorry this took so long, I'd written a chapter pretty quickly after the last one, and then I left it for a bit, but when I looked back at it, I realised I had made it a little too... intense, and I'd kind of dug myself into a hole in terms of plot. So, basically I had to rewrite this whole chapter again.
> 
> Anyway, holidays start in a week so I should be able to make the gaps between chapters a little less long.
> 
> Hope you like this chapter!!


	10. I Hate Leaving the Town That Owns Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _My eyes align with you  
You're on my side  
And I'm all truth  
She said I never lie  
You're rare and I care_

Dick entered the bathroom where Wally was currently sitting on the (closed) toilet lid.

The speedster yelped in shock when the locked door had opened, clutching at his chest as the acrobat walked in and closed it behind him. Dick slumped to the ground and leant against the door.

"Dude! What if I was in the middle of doing my business!" Wally complained, disgruntled.

Dick rolled his eyes, "It's not like it's anything I haven't seen before."

Wally pouted, "Still." Changing the subject, he awkwardly enquired, "I take it your little chat didn't go so well."

Dick peered up at Wally though his bangs, "Alfred's probably currently on damage control."

Wally winced, but attempted to keep positive, "Well, there's still some hope then."

Dick hummed but didn't reply.

The two sat in silence for a bit. Wally played with a loose thread on his pants and Dick stared up at the light fixture on the ceiling, unseeing in thought.

Eventually the younger man spoke, looking down at his lap. "I never asked you if you were okay with staying at the manor."

Wally shrugged at Dick's unsaid question, "I don't mind." He gave a teasing smile. "Manor's more luxurious than your flat anyway."

Dick fidgeted, "Well get ready to stay here for the rest of the foreseeable future, I told B we'd be staying until you leave."

Wally frowned and slid down next to Dick. He nudged the younger man's shoulder with his own, "Hey that's not too bad." Seeing he was unconvinced the redhead continued, "I prefer Gotham to the 'haven anyway."

Dick shot him an offended look and Wally immediately raised his hands in defence, "Not that she doesn't have a certain charm."

"Thought you didn't come to Gotham regularly." Dick said slightly petulantly.

"Uhhh..."

Wally was saved from answering as the acrobat scrubbed a hand over his face, "Anyway. I don't even know what I'm gonna do about patrol. No one else patrols in Blud, and I don't want to drive there and back every night."

"You could always zeta between the two at night?" Wally offered.

Dick tilted his head as he considered it. His hair fell slightly over his face, and Wally looked away, "That's not too bad of an idea actually-"

"Hey I can come up with good ideas-" Wally quickly objected.

"-and Bruce would let me since it's work related. But what would you do while I'm on patrol? There's not a lot to do in the manor and I don't think Bruce would be very happy if I let you loose in Gotham without supervision."

Wally frowned, "What damage does he think I could do?"

Head tilted away from the redhead, Dick eyed him though his bangs, inadvertently exposing the column of his throat. Wally looked away again, stomach flipping slightly, "You'd probably end up in a fight protecting someone's virtue."

"I can't just stand by when someone's getting hurt!"

Dick continued to lazily watch him, "Exactly. None of us can. But this is his city, and you're a meta, so you gotta abide his rules."

"Fine." Wally grumbled. Dick gave a soft smile at the other man's expression.

The two pondered what Wally could do. Technically he could stay at the manor, but both men knew he could end up a little stir crazy at the manor, unable to even use the training equipment in the cave. (There was no way Bruce would let him down there.) 

"You could go to the Watchtower I guess..." Dick ventured, not too fond of the idea but suggesting it for lack of any other ideas.

Wally wrinkled his nose. He could also technically do that, but he was aiming to avoid Clark and Diana's pitying stares as much as he could. Sometimes they could be too overbearing. He was nearly 30 now, no longer a naive teenager, needing the support from his superpowered aunts and uncles. He knew their hearts were in the right place, but sometimes it still felt like they saw him as that awkward 15 year old just starting out in the hero game. This feeling grew especially after the Bludhaven incident.

"No thanks." Wally replied after a beat too long. "Not sure I could handle the paparazzi that Steph claims my team currently has."

Dick chuckled, remembering Steph's dramatic description of Supes' attempt to flee the younger, more excitable heroes of the Watchtower. Wally became very aware of how tightly the pair was pressed together. The bathroom, while spacious, had not been made to accommodate two full grown men propping themselves against the door.

An idea then occured to Wally, "I could always hang with Barry for a bit? He doesn't do nights unless there's an emergency usually."

Dick hummed, "That could work. And I'm sure he'd love to spend some time with you."

"And it doesn't need to be every night as well." Dick nodded before glancing at Wally with a smile. He offered his first. Wally snorted as he accepted his fist bump.

Dick added, "Iris and Bart would probably love to meet you as well."

Wally cheered, "West-Allen family game night!"

Dick snorted as the speedster flailed his arms trying to (Dick could only assume) give some jazz hands without whacking the acrobat in the face. Wally caught his eye and gave him a wide grin. Dick suddenly noticed how close their faces were. He went slightly red and looked down at his lap, breaking eye contact.

Wally cleared his throat, "Uh anyway, now that that's sorted, how do you think Alfred is doing?"

* * *

As soon as Alfred had seen Dick stomp his way towards Wally's bathroom, frustration bleeding out of his shoulders the man had sighed and shook his head, already knowing what had transpired. Bruce could be so dense sometimes.

Taking a plate of his sandwiches with him, the man made his way down to the cave, where his charge was currently sat at the desk, hunched over and glaring at some tech blueprints.

"Master Bruce." Alfred said crisply, putting the plate down.

"Thanks." The man grunted, not looking away.

Internally, Alfred pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Master Bruce." He said a little more loudly, hands clasped behind his back.

"What." Bruce spun around, recognising the elder man's tone. Alfred inwardly winced at the lack of manners.

"Master Dick was very excited at the prospect of spending time with Master Wallace you know."

The vigilante grunted. Alfred repressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"This might be good for the boy. Wallace's death near destroyed him."

Bruce stretched out his back, shoulders clicking, "That's exactly what I'm afraid of Alfred. What happens when he leaves? I'll need to ban him from patrol for weeks, he'll be off his game."

"Or he may come out of this stronger than ever." Alfred suggested gently.

Bruce sighed, "You can't know that. I'll need to make contingency plans." He spun around to face the monitors, "The less time he spends with him better. He can't become too attached."

"Bruce." The vigilante paused, "Give the young lad this one. He's been through enough. Give him this chance for happiness, even if it is temporary. He's old enough to decide for himself what is best for him."

"He's compromised Alfred. He can't see what's best for him."

Alfred gathered up a couple of empty mugs and plates at the desk, "Perhaps so. But humans need to make mistakes sometimes. Learning from them is what makes us stronger. We would also be with him every step of the way."

Bruce grunted. Alfred could see him debating with himself.

"I'm still going to make sure he's gone as quickly as possible." He acquiesced after a long moment.

Alfred's mouth curled into a smile, "Very good Master Bruce."

Bruce sighed and called out as Alfred left, "You need to stop doing that Alfred!"

Alfred let himself smile slightly wider in victory as he headed toward the kitchen. Honestly, the boys really ought to stop leaving their used kitchenware in the cave. They would run out of mugs soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title and summary taken from Love Talk by Blossoms
> 
> stan alfred for clear skin xoxo


	11. Someone Protect Me From the One I Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Your body is a weapon, love  
And it rips me up inside  
My body is a temple of doom  
Doomed not to be  
Doomed not to be by your side_

The pair ended up walking around Gotham, down the less polluted side-streets of citizens whose lives seemed almost unaffected by the city's troubles. They visited the charming crammed delis and cafes and creaking antique shops with beady-eyed cashiers.

Dick ended up buying a little painted ashtray shaped like a turtle for Damian. Wally bought a variety of foods from nearly every place they passed by. The speedster amusedly noted how no one seemed to recognise the young socialite whose face was often plastered on the tabloids as a teenager in the newspaper stands lining street corners.

Eventually, the two grew weary of wandering around and headed over to an area overlooking Gotham Harbour. The water was rough and choppy, and the sky was shadowed by grey clouds but that did little to dampen their mood.

The heroes watched the cargo being loaded or hauled away from the ships that seemed to bellow out dark clouds of pollution, but the harbour's characteristic cacophony of shouts, blasting horns and forklift beeping did not reach them.

Wally watched Dick as he performed a one-armed handstand near the edge. Dick caught his eye and gave him a wink. The speedster snorted.

Dick let himself down and sat cross legged next to the redhead and checked his phone. Wally mirrored his position but leant forward, resting his chin on his hand. The Autumn wind blew, ruffling the younger man's hair. The speedster could almost pretend that this was his Dick Grayson if he only observed him through the corner of his eye. He felt a pang in his chest at that thought. Dick put his phone away and stared out at the water.

They were so _similar_, he marveled (not for the first time). He knew that shouldn't be terribly surprising, but somehow it continued to catch him out at odd moments. The same stupid puns, the same fond laughter, the same glint in his eyes. His chest began to ache a little more as his brain raced to make more comparisons. The rhythm of speech, the same nervous ticks.

An almost carbon copy of his Grayson.

Wally shot him a sideways glance. Dick looked up from his observation of the harbour to give him a grin. The speedster felt a stab in his gut. He looked away.

It had been two years since the fateful Incident, and two years since Wally had last seen his boyfriend alive. Dinah would say that he was finally moving past the Incident (capitalised even in his mind), but Wally felt like he was moving too slow. Sure, he was allowed once more to be on the main roster for the JLA, but it wasn't like the big wigs were the poster boys and girls for adequate mental wellbeing and healthy grieving habits.

He just wanted to move on for God's sake. Don't get him wrong - he didn't want to forget the acrobat, not by a any stretch. But he wanted to be able to be okay with looking over his shoulder and seeing no one there; or cope with the oppressive silence in his mausoleum-like apartment.

Dick sent a concerned glance his way but Wally stretched out a smile for him. The acrobat seemed appeased for now, but there was still tension in his brow and a downward tilt to his mouth. Probably much like Wally's current expression, he thought absently.

Always worrying about everyone else. That was Dick Grayson down to a T. Wally's chest clenched as he added it to his internal list of counterpart comparisons.

While the speedster had been gloomily musing, Dick had decided it was time for another handstand for some god forsaken reason. His hoodie slid down, exposing his smooth brown stomach, scars dotting its expanse. Wally swallowed. That was the other thing...

Wally knew that he shouldn't, but the two Graysons were too similar for Wally not to feel... things... for this counterpart. They're different people, he told himself firmly. This Dick is eight years younger than you. It's not right.

But he couldn't stop the fond feelings sprouting up whenever the acrobat tilted his head back and laughed, or gazed at him solemnly in silent understanding. Wally groaned aloud.

Dick quirked an eyebrow, "You alright there KF?"

"No I'm great." Wally batted him away. "Just thinking about what I'm gonna say to Bruce if he sees me using the zeta."

Dick lowered himself and scooted opposite the speedster. Wally ignored how their knees were touching. "You don't need to worry about that," Dick said with a serious expression, "I'm gonna send him a message to explain."

Wally started slightly, mild disbelief apparent. Dick rolled his eyes, "It'll be a short impersonal one, not to worry."

Wally chucked, "I wasn't worrying."

Dick pushed the older man slightly, "Then wipe that look off your face bro; it's unflattering. Didn't your mom tell you not to keep an ugly expression lest your face gets stuck that way?"

Wally punched Dick lightly in the arm, "Asshole."

Dick grinned but didn't retort, changing the subject, "Iris is excited to see you by the way." He tapped his phone.

Wally gave a more genuine smile, "That's good to hear."

"Are you excited about tonight?"

"The West-Allen household hanging out without the Terrible Twosome? Hell yeah!"

Catching Dick's twitching smile Wally hurriedly added, "Not that I don't like Barry's kids they're just a handful sometimes-"

The vigilante burst out laughing and Wally smiled, happy to make him laugh again.

"I mean Bart's gonna be there so I wouldn't place my best on it being a trouble free night."

"Nah, Bart I can handle, trust me."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Bart on a normal day is red bull on steroids but add in the resurrected cousin and he's gonna be a caffeinated crackhead."

Wally winced, "Ok yeah, fair enough, that's gonna be... fun." They sat in silence, watching a seagull glide down to the harbour.

"Does your ah, team know about me yet?" Wally had been terribly confused to find about the Titans non-existance, and also mildly unnerved by the fact that Dick's original team here had included Tim's boyfriend.

Dick shook his head. "No. It's on a need to know basis only." Wally nodded.

"Anyway," Dick brushed off some non-existent crumbs before jumping to his feet. He offered a hand to Wally to pull him up, "Let's go find some more stuff to do; pretty sure I saw a cinema on the way up here."

Wally accepted his hand and also quietly didn't mention that Dick knew the placement of every cinema in Gotham. If Dick didn't want to talk about his team, then he wouldn't ask. The last thing he wanted was to drive him away or cause him to clam up.

* * *

At 9PM Wally was standing by the zeta as Dick was bent slightly over the computer, inputting the location for Central City. Bruce was (thankfully) nowhere to be seen. Dick suspected he was in the Watchtower frantically finding a way to send Wally home.

Dick was suited up in his Nightwing gear, ready to patrol, and Wally valiantly attempted to prevent his gaze drifting too far south, repeating their age gap over and over in his head. Luckily Damian wasn't here, or he would have probably already stabbed the speedster in an effort to 'protect Grayson's virtue.'

Dick straightened up, "All done." The speedster internally heaved out a sigh of relief.

Wally gave him a smile, "Thank you Rob."

The acrobat ducked his head slightly, and then walked to his motorbike, casually swinging a leg over, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning then?"

Wally nodded, "See you tomorrow." And then with uncharacteristic hesitance he said, "Good luck in Blud."

Dick gave him a signature Nightwing smirk causing something in the the older man's heart to twist. 

"Thanks Walls." He revved the motorcycle and roared off into the night, the sound echoing through the cave and disturbing the bats.

Wally sighed before turning to face the zeta. He ran a hand through his hair before stepping through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title and summary taken from Your Body is a Weapon by the Wombats.
> 
> So I'll admit, I wasn't planning on taking a detour to the West-Allen household, but like,,, that's happening now-
> 
> Thank you for all your kudos and comments :)


	12. Raise Our Glass to the Ceiling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I'm back in Liverpool  
And everything feels the same,  
But I worked something out last night   
That changed this little boy's game _

Barry met him on the other side with a blazing grin which Wally couldn’t help but return. “Wally!”

“Barry.” The redhead let the other man pull him into a tight hug. The Zeta powered down behind them, “How are things?”

“They’re good man, they’re good.” Barry led him out of the concealed entrance into a grimy alleyway, “Bart nearly crapped his pants when I told him you were coming over.” He lowered his voice and bumped the younger man’s shoulder.

Wally snorted, “Delightful.”

“Iris is making your favourite mac and cheese too – if that’s still your favourite.” Barry continued slightly hesitantly.

“It is.” Wally assured him immediately, wanting to ease the man’s tension. Barry let out a small sigh of relief.

“Anyway, race you there?” Wally grinned impishly before speeding off.

“Wait you don’t know my address!” Barry groaned before racing after him.

Barry reached the door to his apartment where Wally had just rung the doorbell. “Getting slow in your old man?” Wally snickered.

Barry rolled his eyes fondly, “You wish.”

And then the door opened with Iris standing behind it.

“Oh god.” She held her hand over her mouth and her eyes filled with tears.

“Hey Aunt Iris.”

“Wally!” She pulled him into her arms and forced Wally to stoop down. Barry rested his hand lightly on his wife’s shoulder when he heard her to begin to sob. After what felt like forever, she released him and sniffed, “Sorry,” She laughed, tearfully, “It’s just-”

“Been forever?” Wally said gently. Iris nodded and laughed again, wiping away her tears.

“Sorry!” She apologised again, attempting to compose herself, brushing down the creases in shirt when she realised that they were stood in the doorway. “Here let me let you…” She stood back and allowed them in. Wally somehow procured some flowers and gave them to Iris, who was wiping off her tears again.

“Gosh you shouldn’t have-”

“-It was no problem.” Iris laughed again, and then bustled away to the kitchen to find a vase. ‘When did you get the flowers?’ Barry mouthed in bemusement, shooting Wally a look when the redhead only snorted in response.

“Did I miss him is he here yet?!” Bart burst into the room (most likely emerging from the bathroom). Wally grinned, “I dunno Squirt what do you think?”

Bart came to a stop in front of him. He looked up at the taller man, mouth slightly agape, eyes shining, lip trembling before promptly bursting into tears. Wally pulled the boy into a hug, rubbing his back as the boy wailed out ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” into his chest.

Barry left them in the dining room to give them some privacy, but Wally saw that he too was silently crying. Wally’s heart ached for his counterpart’s family. He gripped Bart tighter.

Eventually, the boy’s crying tapered off, and Wally let go of him. His face was blotchy and he sniffed noisily.

“Feel better?” Wally asked softly.

Bart nodded, a stray tear still making it down his face now and then, “Yeah. I guess. ‘M sorry about your hoodie.”

Wally looked down and saw a wet Bart shaped patch. Wally shrugged, “It’s no sweat man.”

Bart nodded as Barry and Iris emerged from the kitchen. Both their eyes were slightly red.

“Shall we?” Iris said weakly, gesturing to the dining table. Wally gave her a gentle smile and led the way.

Barry managed to compose himself once he sat down, attempting to converse normally, Iris piping in here and there, voice becoming stronger with every passing minute. Bart, worryingly, remained silent as he sat. The three adults kept glancing at him every couple of minutes. Thankfully, most of the tension in his shoulders seemed to seep out by the time Iris brought out a pile of donuts with delicate frosting decorations.

“Thank you for the lovely meal Iris.” Wally finished off the last bite of his donut.

Iris waved her hand, “It was no problem, you know Grandma’s recipe doesn’t take much effort.”

Wally stood up and helped her clear the plates when Barry went over to quietly talk to Bart. The redhead ruffled the boy’s hair as he passed him. Bart sent him a weak smile.

"Thank you for this." Iris murmured as Wally set the plates down in the sink.

"For the dishes? It's not a problem-"

"No." Iris met Wally's eyes, "For coming. I know you didn't have to, and probably shouldn't have if Batman has anything to say about it, but I want you to know we really appreciate it."

Wally choked up slightly, and in lieu of verbal reply, just pulled her into another hug. They joined Barry and Bart back in the living room, where the pair had set up a game of monopoly. Bart seemed to have cheered up slightly; shooting Wally a small yet sincere grin.

Wally felt a rush of internal relief as the West-Allen family continued to relax around him, cracking jokes and drowning each other in fictional monopoly debt. Everything would always be alright if his family was happy, no matter what universe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title and summary taken from Let's Dance to Joy Division by The Wombats
> 
> um,, so it's been a while. I'm really really really fucking sorry about that, I don't really have much of an excuse. (I mean I applied to uni so that was taking up some of my time-) This chapter is also not the best but uh I don't really know how to make it better? so I'm leaving it. I honestly don't have the time to make it flow better so the next one will probably have a big time skip aaa.  
Thank you if you're still reading this lmao, and sorry again for the terrible upload schedule. I hope you're all staying safe.


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